Minimum Wages and the Labour Market – Recent and Contemporary Issues in the British Hotel Industry

The radical revision of the wages council system in the mid‐1980s in the claimed interests of increasing labour market flexibility was a controversial measure. Against this background, a study of minimum wages and conditions and other related matters was undertaken in the hotel industry in 1989 in the North West region and among the major national companies. Findings from this study about remuneration and employment practice in regard to young workers and adults are discussed in the context of labour market developments of the 1980s in the hotel industry. Such developments include trends in employment, minimum pay and earnings. Some future issues in relation to minimum wage‐fixing are also mentioned.